↧
WyldLife club can and should look different from its high school counterpart for two primary reasons.
First, middle school kids are in different places developmentally so club should be planned to meet the needs of younger kids.
Second, these kids might be involved in the ministry for 6-7 years and might get bored if they experience the same clubs year after year.
Here are a few ideas:- Consider different locations for club. If Young Life meets in homes, host WyldLife at the school or a local recreation center. Holding WyldLife before or after school also helps with transportation.
- Occasional club activities like kickball, Bunco and scavenger hunts are ideal for high-energy middle school kids. Let kids play and spend time with leaders, then end the time with a talk.
- Designate certain events or themes in your area as WyldLife-only and others as Young Life-only. Perhaps WyldLife kids get to enjoy crud wars and Hat Club while high school kids get to experience drive-in movies at the park and Mustache Club.
- WyldLife clubs typically feature fewer songs and skits and more mixers/games that include everyone. Middle school kids can be uncomfortable singing and would rather participate in mixers than be entertained by walk-on characters.
- Keep a record of the games, skits and mixers you use. If the new freshmen just played Human Twister at their last WyldLife club of the year, don’t play the same game at their first Young Life club.
- Train high school seniors to be WyldLife leaders and help with club. Serving as WyldLife leaders can give kids a new perspective on their high school club, as well. When they understand the “whys” of club, they will be excited to bring friends.
Written by Julie Clapp.
↧
Our featured Camp Musician for March is Tate Kirgiss. Tate grew up as the son of an Area Director who also worked on property staff at Castaway, so the mission of Young Life and camping have been woven through his entire life story. He has been a camper, served on Work Crew and Summer Staff, and was a summer long sound intern.
Tate first started leading club music while in high school and served on his first summer assignment as a camp musician in 2010. Since then he has done music for five summer assignments, numerous Young Life and WyldLife weekends, leader weekends, work weeks, family camps, banquets, fundraisers, and leads music for his local Capernaum club.
Apart from Young Life and WyldLife, Tate has also played for Young Lives camp (his favorite experience) and multi-cultural sessions. He loves leading club music, calling the square dance, and getting to do program as well.
Currently, Tate lives in West Lafayette, IN, where he is the director of Worship & Arts at Purdue Christian Campus House. He travels the midwest playing bluegrass renditions of his latest album with his band “Tate Kirgiss & The Rattlesnakes,” and also travels nationally playing guitar for Mike Mains & The Branches.
Tate believes music reaches people in a unique way, and has dedicated his life to sharing the Gospel through songs. He loves getting to know people, hearing their stories, and reconnecting with campers and YL staff year after year.
His latest music is available here on iTunes.Visit Tate’s website here: www.tatekirgiss.comFollow Tate on Twitter here: @tatekirgissDownload music from Tate here.Email Tate to play at your Young Life camp or banquet.
What other Area Directors are saying about Tate:
Tate Kirgiss is a blessing to the mission of Young Life! Tate has grown up around the Young Life world, so he completely understands and lives our mission. I have had the pleasure of serving on a summer assignment at Castaway with Tate while he was the camp musician. He has the heart of a servant, and looks for opportunities on how he can be a blessing to any team. Tate has even written a lot of music that is designed for a Young Life setting, so it fits with a summer camp schedule or any Young Life event. Tate's love for the Lord is very evident. He was a great teammate, and I would love to serve with him again in the future. He will connect well with any crowd! -Brett Hersma, Sr. Regional Director, Chicago, IL
Tate Kirgiss loves Jesus. If he couldn't play the guitar, drums, piano, and whatever other instruments he plays, I would still want him around the kids that Young Life leaders pursue in Carmel. I first met Tate four years ago while he was serving as a summer-long intern at Timber Wolf Lake. This was before he fully committed to serving through music, and though his life circumstances have changed, and the ways in which the Lord uses him have changed, what Tate offers has not. During that summer at Timber Wolf Lake, Tate served behind the scenes in order to set the stage for Christ to show up in kids' lives. Through his musical talents and passion, he is continuing to do the same thing. I have been on a month long assignment with Tate, and I have hired him to play at multiple banquets, and the reason you MUST utilize Tate is this... he is an asset to the continuing growth of Christ's Kingdom here on earth. Tate's humble stage-presence and musical beauty point toward Christ in ways camp videos, leader interviews, and banquet talks cannot. Reach out to Tate Kirgiss and show your YL kids, parents, committee, and leaders glimpses of the Kingdom they haven't encountered before. -John Balmat, Area Director, Carmel, IN
I have had the great privilege of serving alongside Tate on several Young Life and WyldLife weekends and a couple of summer assignments. Tate always brings so much to the team. Tate’s love for Jesus is made very clear from the first time you meet him. He is always seeking to grow in his relationship with Him. He has a great personality that is incredibly easy to be around. He loves people of all ages very, very well. Tate is a very gifted musician. His own songs are a great picture of the Gospel and real life. The thing that makes Tate such a great addition to any team is his ability to truly lead singing at club or worship with the team. I have heard many musicians who are very talented but struggle with leading others from upfront. He is a gifted song leader. He does not draw attention to himself when he is leading. He is fun and outgoing and is able to bring people with him in his music. I would have Tate come and do music for me every time I lead a weekend or summer camp. He is a great gift to our mission. -Corky Erickson, Area Director, Washtenaw County, MI
↧
↧
Supplies5 Twizzlers per Team of 2.
How To Play- Place everyone in teams of 2 and hand each team 5 Twizzlers.
- The goal for each team is to tie all 5 Twizzlers into a knot (a simple loop that is pulled together is fine). The catch is that they must work together as a team, but each participant can only use one hand.
- The first team to tie up all ten Twizzlers wins!
Pro Tips- Use Twizzlers, not licorice. Twizzlers are more challenging in that they are more slippery, but they are more durable as well.
- Make sure they are fresh, fresh ones are more bendable than old ones you got for Halloween in 2012.
- Have some extra Twizzlers around in the case that some break.
- Post pictures to your YL Instagram.
- Award the winning team a package of Twizzlers for their superior knot tying skills!
↧
A guest post from Lindsay Fluker, staff wife and volunteer leader in Griffin, GA. Originally posted March, 2013.
Spring is definitely in the air, as yards are bursting with color and and my friends at the high school talk of prom and spring break. I am the wife of a Young Life Area Director and a volunteer leader and over the years, I have come to have a love-hate relationship with this little season.
As a wife, I love it, because ministry slows down.As a leader, I hate it because... well... ministry slows down.
The past two months have been filled with speaking engagements, weekend camp trips and successful work crew training and Bible studies. But now we are coming down from our little mountaintop and into the valley of Spring, where baseball games trump club, the Bachelor is more important than Campaigners, and that kid you led to Christ at camp avoids you when she sees you coming (or maybe that’s just my effect on people!)
It's ironic that while the flowers are blooming and trees are bearing fruit, this season of ministry with teenagers often brings lower numbers, spring break/prom rumors, and general apathy toward God. There are, of course, exceptions, but sometimes it can be a quite discouraging.
I also find this is when the Enemy often attacks us in our unique, individual ways. Stacy Eldridge, author of Captivating, wisely states that 'the whispers of Satan are as old as the Garden of Eden. His mission is to convince us that we are too much and not enough, and that God is holding out on us.'
I laughed today as I looked back on a journal entry I wrote this time last year. Essentially, I was believing the same old lie: that I am not enough. Not doing enough with kids. Not being a good enough friend. Not sharing the gospel enough. Not going to school enough. Not helping my husband enough. Not being a good enough mom/wife/leader/follower of Christ.
Year after year, the father of lies convinces me that my inadequacies are the reason for the Spring Slump.
But this year, I want to take these thoughts captive. I want to push through this season with eyes on eternity. I want to keep pursuing kids, even though they seem disinterested. I want to be the one who tells them the truth. That God is GOOD and HE is ENOUGH!
So if you are struggling, know that you are not alone. Fight those lies with Scripture that states who you are in Christ, that you are deeply loved and accepted. Know that even when kids’ lives seem fruitless, God is at work. And one day, those little seeds you are sowing, will “spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams.”(Isaiah 44:4)
Here's another encouraging post from Lindsay about the sacrifice some high schoolers in their area recently made to take middle schoolers to camp.
↧
Make your picks! We're hosting the 2nd annual Young Life Leader March Madness Bracket Challenge!
Enter your bracket in the Young Life Leaders group on ESPN.
The winner will be featured on YoungLifeLeaders.org and leaders world-wide will stand in awe of your ability to predict the future. In addition to featuring your pickin' skillz on the blog, I also might just mail you a lil package with some YL shirts. I've got a sweet 'Young Life Wing Fest' shirt that's just beggin' for a good home. Let the games begin!
March Madness Club Ideas
If you're looking for a fun way to celebrate the madness at club, below are a few ideas. - Have your middle/high school friends come dressed in gear from their favorite college.
- As kids arrive have some blank NCAA Tournament brackets for kids to fill out for fun. If you have one place where you have club each week, have them hang their brackets on the wall so you can follow along each week and see who is winning.
- Have basketball highlight videos playing before club and during dead time. You could even make one of your own funny basketball highlight reels with your middle or high school friends or show a Dude Perfect YouTube video.
GAMES
Here are some prize ideas. Good prizes make games way more fun.
Indoor Knockout with a nerf hoop. Great mixer involving the whole club.
Dunk Contest/Free Throw Competition
Use a nerf hoop. Have celebrity judges who award for creativity, style, and level of difficulty. Pre-select participants. Have them wear costumes: basketball jerseys, headbands, wristbands, tall socks, etc... You could also do a Free Throw Competition with similar style.
Draw 64Put the #'s 1-64 in a hat/bowl/bag. 64 kids will draw and then represent the corresponding team to that number (as the teams are seeded in the NCAA tourney). As the tourney unfolds, whoever is paired with the winning team wins $ off of summer camp. If you don't have 64 kids at club, get each person to draw twice, having a better chance to win.
Ping Pong Ball Fight Game
Set up a cookie sheet as a mini-basketball court. Place a ping-pong ball on it, and one person on each end. The object is to blow the ball to the other side first. Have them play one round, and then raise the stakes, doing the next round blindfolded. After they are blindfolded, place the ball on a mound of flour in the middle of the cookie sheet. (via YLPlaybook.com)
Name That MascotDownload different mascot images, put them in a power point. Have kids "buzz in" when the image appears if they know the name of the school it represents. (From Dave Pressgrove.)
MUSIC
More ideas from YLHelp.com
↧
↧
Your middle school friends may be excited about going to camp this summer, but unless their parents are excited too, those kids won’t be on the bus with you. That means you’ve got to get camp information in the hands of parents. Start by handing fliers to parents when they pick up their kids after club. A flier handed to a kid may never make it to his or her parents.
Another great way to communicate with parents is to host a camp phone-a-thon with your leaders. Pick a weekday evening or a weekend afternoon and gather your leaders in one location. Order pizza and have club lists ready with the names of every kid who has attended club this year, along with parent names and parent phone numbers.
Provide a script so that high school students and other young leaders can make these calls with confidence. It might start something like this:
“Hi, my name is ________________ and I’ve gotten to know your daughter ______________ at WyldLife club. I’m calling about our WyldLife camp trip this summer, and I’d love for her to come with us. Have you heard about our camp trip?”
Give your leaders a detailed Q/A sheet so they are prepared to answer questions about:- Departure and arrival dates and times
- Location (distance is important to many middle school parents)
- Cost (includes transportation, food, activities, housing, etc.)
- Financial options (payment plans, scholarships, fundraisers, etc.)
- Transportation (bus company, drivers, etc.)
- Camp activities
- Typical day at camp
- Ratio of kids to leaders on trip
- Housing
If parents are interested, leaders can tell them how to register – or even offer to pick up the deposit and registration form (a great way to meet parents they haven’t already met!) If parents say “no”, find out why. Schedule conflict? Cost? Child’s friends not going? Maybe there are ways to overcome those obstacles.
End the evening with prayer. Pray for every kid on your lists – that God will provide a way for those who need to hear the Gospel at camp to be on that trip with you.
Written by Julie Clapp.
↧
Special thanks to YLHelp.com for creating these sweet Contact Work Cards.
Written by Sean McGever
Contact work is the most distinctive and unique tool in the Young Life tool belt. Few other ministries do it, and even fewer do it the way Young Life leaders do. Yet, it is also the most challenging aspect of leadership for most of us in Young Life.
I am the product of great contact work. In fact, I met Young Life through a new leader on his first day doing contact work. It is the purest form of our sacred work. As I like to say, the highest title anyone in Young Life can have is “Visitor," and this comes in the form of a disposable sticky-backed label handed out at a front desk of a middle or high school. It comes in lots of other forms too, and that is where the creative genius of our highest ranking comrades excel.
Any reader of YLhelp.com has seen that I don’t have contact work all figured out. But this idea could be helpful to someone like me. Here it is:
Contact Work Cards are a deck of 54 cards, each suggesting a unique contact work challenge. The idea for Contact Work Cards was born out of an article I read on how some people overcome fear and anxiety by setting up small goals for each day. As it turns out, when you make a small, specific goal, there is a much better chance that you will make progress. You may fail or forget occasionally, but overall a lot of progress is made through this approach.
Satan hates contact work because it is a pure form of incarnational ministry rooted in the imitation of Jesus and fueled by the power of the Spirit. That is the primary challenge to quality contact work. (And also why we can be assured that we’ll be victorious if we persist in it.) On a practical level, most leaders don’t plan regularly for contact work, like they might for weekly club and Campaigners. Left unscheduled, contact work yields to other priorities. Furthermore, many people just aren’t sure what to do. Contact work can be intimidating! Each of the 54 cards provides a specific suggestions to overcome these obstacles.
One card reads, “ Ask a Campaigner kid who the toughest/roughest student is at school and pray together for them,” “Another suggests, “Sit in the student section at a game.” And every card acknowledges, that contact work is not a game. Getting to know kids is not just a challenge issued through a deck of cards. Quality contact work is the process of building authentic friendships with kids who need to know we care.
Here are some suggestions for using Contact Work Cards:- Give every leader a card after club as their challenge for the week. Then report back.
- Sign completed cards and put them back in the deck when done.
- Try to work through the whole deck as a team.
I gave a pack to every club in my area and I’ve heard some fun reports. One of the cards instructs the leader to get together with a club kid and do something nice for the family that hosts club. Last weekend we heard a knock at our door and on the doorstep, we found a huge card from the kids in our club and some homemade cookies! Didn’t see that one coming!
Many blessings in your contact work adventures. If you would like to order Contact Work Cards, you can do so here. -Sean
↧
Name tags are helpful to have at your Capernaum club to help everyone (parents included) learn names.
Many clubs have started putting this index of symbols on the backs of the leaders name tags as a reference and then if a friend has one of these needs, the appropriate symbol is placed under their name on the front of their name tag. This lets leaders know what their friend's needs are without it being super obvious. A great way to love your friends with excellence!
Download the symbols here!
This post first appeared on YLCapernaumEverywhere.com
↧
![]()
Here's a great club game to play now that it's warming up outside.
This game was created in the spirit of YouTube's "Alex Tanney Trick-Shot Quarterback" videos.
Set up two extended rows of various sizes of crates, bins, garbage cans, and other "targets." Form two teams and give each one a football. Assign a leader or kid as a "runner" (the person who retrieves the football after it's thrown.)
Space each target from one end of your large meeting area to the other. The easy targets are worth one point, and as you progress to the harder targets they're progressively worth more points. For example, a bucket that's three feet away from your starting line is worth one point, but a basketball hoop or a trash can positioned at the other end of your space is worth five points.
Each team member is allowed one minute to score as many points as he or she can. The team that ends with the most collective points wins.
↧
↧
HT to @KnapYoungLife for the idea. (The line 'we bout fourfiveseconds from wildin' is from the new song by Kayne & Rihanna & Paul McCartney, 'FourFiveSeconds.')
You'll need to do some lyrical maneuvering in order to sing it as a club song but could always just use the pic to promote club on Instagram or Twitter.
↧
Spring has arrived! If you need some fun, fresh, & frugal contact work ideas, you're in luck. Grab your middle and high school friends and make some memories.
Putt, Pitch, Punish (The YL-P3 Happy Gilmore Invitational)
![]()
Foot Golf
Another fun twist on golf is the new and fast growing sport of soccer-golf or FOOT GOLF. Here's an article explaining the game, but it's basically playing golf with a soccer ball and your foot on a real course. I've yet to play, but it sounds amazing.
Stick Ball
My personal favorite. It's simply a twist on baseball, playing on a tennis court with a broom handle and tennis balls. Buy a wooden broom and unscrew the handle from the bottom bristles. Use it for the bat and grab 6 tennis balls. It's much harder than it looks to hit a tennis ball with a skinny broom handle. Watching people strike out is funny. Hit it over the tennis court fence for an automatic home-run. 3 strikes and you're out, pretty much the same rules as baseball except only 2 bases, the net and home plate. Trust me, its a winner. We played a ton last spring/summer. It became a YL tradition.
Dog Park/Animal Shelter
If you have a dog, take your dog and some of your middle and high school friends to a local dog park. If you don't have a dog, visit a local pet store or animal shelter.
Hiking
Take a group hiking. Ask your local outdoor store for advice on a good trail.
KanJam
KanJam is a fun and simple frisbee game. Think 2 on 2 Ultimate Frisbee in the back alley with trash cans as your end zone. Set it up in the parking lot of the local late night hang out spot beside a set of corn hole boards. You and your high school friends can be entertained for hours. It's also a great pre-club hangout idea.
Build Your Own Frisbee Golf Course
Some friends and I recently mapped out a frisbee golf course around the local university. "Throw off the parking deck and hit the middle column on that building, par 4." It's free fun...unless you accidentally dent other people's cars with your frisbee.
Cards On A Roof
Find a mostly flat roof on a not so windy night. Grab a few high school friends, a blanket (or lawn chairs and a folding table) and some playing cards. Add a set of iPhone speakers and 6 pack of Stewart's Orange n Cream Soda. Bam. A night to remember.
Half Priced Shakes at Sonic
Now through the end of summer, Sonic is offering half-priced shakes every evening after 8 p.m.No coupon is necessary and this offer is valid on all shakes, every day, at all locations.
Dizzy Shoe Game
Thanks to Mackenzie Olson for submitting this idea. Mackenzie writes, "Anytime we're at camp or when there is nothing around to do, I like to con kids into playing the Dizzy Shoe Game. But I don’t call it that… I only ask if they want to play a game. I make everyone put one of their shoes, or a stick, over their head and make them look at it (this is key to the game- the looking up part) and I make them spin around as fast as they can 15 times. Always screaming for them to spin faster. Once they get to 15 they are to throw the shoe and attempt to jump over it. If they truly looked up, and truly spun 15 times quickly, there is zero chance of succeeding and 100 percent chance of laughing very hard. A word of Caution: this is ALWAYS to be done on grass." Thanks Mackenzie for this fun idea. I've already used it multiple times when hanging out with my high school friends and it's been hilarious.
And of course...
You can always build an Eno village
or
play some Spikeball!
If you have other ideas to add email me here. -Drew Hill
↧
Come join old friends and make tons of new ones at one of the upcoming Young Life camp work weeks.
It's a great opportunity to add another YL shirt to your collection...and to also help prepare summer camps for kids to experience the BEST WEEK OF THEIR LIVES!
CostFREE!! Your all-expense paid week will include housing, great food, club, fun activities, a t-shirt, and lots of hard but rewarding work!
WhoCollege-aged young adults looking for a fun, rewarding, community-filled time to start your summer while serving a Young Life camp.
What To ExpectWork projects in the morning and part of the afternoon, free time before dinner, club in the evenings with plenty of time to connect with each other.
Carolina PointMay 13th-17th
Castaway ClubMay 19th-24th
Crooked Creek RanchMay 16th-21st
Frontier RanchMay 15th-21st
Lake ChampionMay 25th-29th
Lost CanyonMay 13th-18th
Saranac VillageMay 30th-June 3rd
SharpTop CoveMay 10th-15th
*SouthwindPlease contact camp directly for more information.
Timber Wolf LakeMay 4th-7th
Windy GapMay 13th-18thIf you know of other YL camp work weeks, let us know here.
↧
During this season of Lent we've been talking in our Campaigners group about different spiritual disciplines. A few weeks ago we focused on prayer, specifically looking at the Lord's Prayer and the Psalms. When you look into the Psalms it's hard to miss how raw and real the psalmists were when they spoke to God. I showed this video below to help illustrate how we could pray similar prayers in 2015.
I Don't Understand God Sometimes
HT to Ty Gallenbeck for sending me the video link.
↧
↧
As warmer weather is upon us, it's a fun option to move club outdoors. Kathryn Tilmes shared this idea of doing a Young Life movie night outside.
What You Need- Projector, laptop, DVD, amp, speakers and all the right cables.
- Extension cords.
- A screen or a large white sheet and a rope to use for the screen
- Snacks, drinks, cups, plates, and napkins
- Electric tea kettles to make hot chocolate
- Christmas lights, table cloths, and other decorations
- Cushions, blankets, and lawn chairs
- A playlist of songs to play as kids arrive
- And of course, a hashtag #YLmovienight
- An appropriate movie. Here's a list of some we used on our bus ride to camp.
Instead of showing a typical movie, you could also have kids make short videos ahead of time to show that night, sort of your own version of the Sundance Film Festival.
![]()
Dan Griebel, Area Director in Kane County, Illinois also shared this Oscar Night idea.
"This year we had our Second Annual Young Life Oscar Night at a local historic theatre. Kids worked together with their leader to make a movie that’s two minutes or less, and then we invited the community (parents, donors, teachers and more) to come be the “academy” and vote for the best picture. It’s a fun way to celebrate kids, enjoy time with them creating the movies, and invite adults into the ministry. This is a picture of everyone under the marquee at the end of the night. It was a great night!
↧
Every spring Young Life encourages college seniors who are about to graduate to register in the YL Alumni and Friends database. The intention is to stay connected and serve our alumni as they enter the next phase of life.
You can join the YL Alumni & Friends network here by filling out this short form.
Some of the benefits to joining our Alumni and Friends network:- Let Young Life help connect you with a new Young Life area, find a job or get in touch with old Young Life friends.
- Hear updates and stay actively involved in the mission of Young Life.
- Reconnect and have an opportunity to serve as a volunteer leader or on an area committee.
- Find local Young Life alumni gatherings.
- Receive the monthly eNewsletter and hear about what other Young Life alumni are doing.
Check out this video.
↧
Goin' Fishin' was shared with us by Alli Bixler, volunteer leader in Baton Rouge, LA.
Materials Needed- 2 or more long pieces of rope
- 2 or more buckets
- 2 or more whole fish you can buy from the seafood counter in a grocery store (we used catfish) - NOT ALIVE
- Small/lightweight objects (whistles, sponges, small toys, etc.)
- Ice
Preparation- Tie the small objects along each piece of rope. Try to space them out.
- Tie 1 fish per rope to the very end of each piece of rope.
- Fill buckets with ice.
- Coil ropes up and place each strand of rope individually into each bucket.
- Make sure the fish is on the bottom of the rope.
How To Play![]()
- Organize kids into 2 or more lines. We played this at an all-city club so we did it by high school, but it could work girls vs. guys or any other formation.
- Tell kids to put the beginning of the string through one shirt sleeve and out the other
- Have 1 leader working each bucket, feeding the rope to the kids.
- Tell them it is a race to see who can get the string through their line the fastest.
- Once they are all strung together, they are stuck, and that is when the fish at the end of the rope comes out. (Make sure your string is long enough to have all the kids stuck on it, so no one on the end tries to sneak away)
- They have to put the fish through their sleeves just like they did with the other objects.
- Have leaders "coach" the kids who are freaking out about it and remind them they're racing the other team!
Our kids hated it and loved it at the same time. They're still telling their friends about the time they had to put a real fish through their shirt!
↧
This hilarious & meaningful Campaigners tradition is shared by Tom O'Neill, a volunteer leader in Sammamish, WA.
The Campies
For any fan of the TV show "The Office" you will recognize that this Campaigners tradition was inspired by Michael Scott's shenanigans. I was watching an episode of "The Dundies", which is an annual office award show, hosted by Michael Scott, who gives out awkward and hilarious awards in full tuxedo. That immediately made me think "this is pretty much a YL camp last dinner award show." With that "light bulb" moment, "The Campies" were born, a fusion of “The Dundies” and a camp program awards show. It’s a great way to cap off the school year with your Campaigners.
I invited all of my campaigner guys (sophomores at the time) to attend the 1st Annual Campies, and instructed them that the dress code was "unnecessarily formal." My co-leader, Warren, and I then spent the morning of The Campies writing awards for each of our Campaigner guys. Many of them were inside jokes, that had been developed over the years, or happened in Campaigners that year (ex. “Better Late Than Never”, “Last Man Standing”, or “I’m a Lover not a Fighter.”)
Others were more serious, such as the coveted "Ironman Award" for the most YL events attended that year. I also always give the "Rookie of the Year" to someone who was new that year and became an integral part of the group. We make toasts (sparkling cider), take pictures looking quite dapper, and laugh a lot. We then talk about some of our favorite moments in Campaigners and what God had taught each of us that year.
This has now become a favorite tradition and something the boys look forward to each May. One of them was crushed when he was beat out for "Ironman" because he had sports conflicts.
A couple tips if you're considering doing this or something similar:- Hammer home the dress code and do it big yourself. It makes things more ridiculous and makes the pictures stand out on social media. Kids' friends always wonder what went down at The Campies and start asking about it.
- Invite an amateur photographer or just someone with a nice camera to come shoot photos. Go paparazzi with photos as they enter and of course some posed shots.
- Spend a good amount of time writing the awards. Think camp-style: Presented by Inside Joke, Reverse Inside Joke, Program Character #1, Program Character #2 etc. Maybe even get some help from another leader, two minds are often funnier than one.
- Be sensitive to what is funny and what is offensive. An extra laugh is not worth a hurt kid. Err on the safe side and consider the relationship you have with each kid. Find ways to celebrate kids while making light of something ridiculous.
- Get RSVPs ahead of time, so you know who you need to write an award for. I always print a few blank ones in case I need to hand write one last minute too.
Good luck, and go celebrate your Campaigner kids!
Thanks for sharing this great idea Tom! If you have any YL traditions you'd like to pass along, here's how you submit a guest post.
↧
↧
↧
The Young Life Service Center released an executive memo today with a policy change regarding dating relationships between Young Life team members.
For over a decade there has been a mission-wide ban on leaders from the same Young Life team dating one another. After much discussion the Senior Leadership Team has unanimously voted to remove the dating ban. President Denny Rydberg was quoted in the memo with the following:
"We've all heard the phrases 'Meet your wife in Young Life' and 'Meet your hub at club.' For the last 12 years these phrases have been frowned upon when used among team members. Countless leaders have asked to be transferred to lead at different schools in order to date someone on their current team. After an extensive survey, we've also determined this is the single biggest reason we lose leaders in the mission. To eliminate this problem and the headaches it causes for countless Area Directors, we have decided to remove the ban. Please urge your leaders to still proceed with caution. I highly recommend all leaders to read this book and this book before moving forward."
When asked to comment on the policy change, Zak Ellison from Merced County, CA, was quoted as saying, "I mean, I don't think it's that big of a deal, but I don't really have time to talk about it...my team leader Kristy just texted and said we should test out the club games before Monday."
*This policy is effective immediately, issued APRIL FIRST, 4.1.15, the first day in April.
*This change does not apply to the current Summer Staff dating policy. While single Assigned Team members are permitted to date one another, college students serving on Summer Staff will still abide by the 'The 1941 Purple Act' instituted by Jim Rayburn.
↧
Before you know it the seniors in your Young Life club will be graduating. Below is one special way to honor and celebrate them.
Some of the male leaders in our area have a tradition of holding a "Blessing Service" for the graduating senior guys. They got this idea from a book called 'The Blessing' by John Trent and Gary Smalley. The YL leaders send a letter to the fathers of the senior YL guys. A few weeks later they hold the ceremony.
I've seen similar ceremonies done in other Young Life areas. Depending upon how many graduating seniors are in an area, some do area-wide ceremonies or one for each high school.
Rule Of ThumbIf you want each senior to get a chance to be spoken to and about, you need an average of 5 mins/senior. 12 seniors= 1 hour. Anything over 20 seniors will probably take too long and should be divided into a smaller group.
Although the letter below is particularly designed for guys, I have seen these services done for both guys and gals. Some have had parents come and give the blessing. Others have been given by the Young Life leaders. If you were to do a "Guys only" blessing service, be sure to account for those guys who don't have a dad. In our culture where many fathers are not involved in their sons lives, you would need to make a decision as to if you would invite the mother to give the blessing, or another male family member, or the male YL leader.
How To Give A Meaningful BlessingIf you choose to do something like this in your area, I would coach whoever is giving the blessings to prepare well by choosing a few specific things to share. I have watched ceremonies happen where one senior gets spoken about for over five minutes with well prepared and meaningful blessings. The next senior gets only one minute of poorly prepared thoughts.
Help your leaders/speakers prepare by giving them a loose structure:- A story that is either funny and memorable or meaningful. It can be about a shared experience with the speaker and senior or one that happened in the senior's life that describes their character.
- 2-4 Character traits that you have seen exhibited in the senior's life (ex: honesty, courage, integrity, unselfishness, leadership, perseverance, etc...)
- A Bible verse that describes their life or that is your prayer for them. A thoughtful prayer for them.
- Specific things you are actually praying for God to do in and through them.
- Hugs, hands on their shoulders, looking into their eyes as you speak are all a very valuable part of this experience.
Sample LetterHere is a sample letter you could mail to parents. Feel free to copy, edit and use it.
Dear Dads of High School Senior Guys,
I feel so honored that we as Young Life leaders have been privileged to be involved in your son’s high school years. I love these guys so much and desire to send them off well as they become men and head out into what is next in their lives after high school. I would love to invite you to a “blessing service” for your sons on _______ at the home of _____________.
Working with kids over the last 20 years, and being both a father and a son, I can tell you how valuable a parent’s blessing can be and how hurtful it is when it is absent. The idea of blessing is found in both the Old and New testaments and is a longing that is deep inside of each one of us. I have copied a chapter of the book, The Blessing by John Trent and Gary Smalley to help you better understand what is meant by blessing in the Biblical sense. I highly recommend the book to all parents. You can order it off Amazon.com.
During our time together we will focus on two elements of the blessing: “A Spoken Message” and “A Special Future.” We will eat and fellowship and begin a ceremony of verbally blessing our kids. Part one would be a chance to tell them how proud you are of them and how much you love them.
Part two is a chance to speak a vision for their future into their hearts. During this part you can recognize how God has gifted them uniquely and how you have seen them grow and mature and how you see them successful in the future. You can speak words of praise, words of truth, scripture, however you feel led. The principle is this: I love you; I believe in you, I am committed to you as a father.
I know this may be difficult for some us for a number of reasons. If you have never had the blessing from your parents, it is sometimes difficult to give it to another. You may feel regret, wishing you had more time as they are now about to leave home. Whatever the case I promise you it is worth it to your son to take part in this with them.
So here is how it will work: RSVP by email to ______so we can have the proper amount of food/drinks.
4:00pm- Dads arrive with a steak for you and your son (you two go pick it out together)4:30pm- Cook, Eat and fellowship5:00pm- Time of blessing (Each parent will have 5 minutes to publicly speak their blessing)6:30pm- Prayer for these men
Helpful HintsI suggest that dads write out their blessing to their sons. This could be an emotional time so having it written down will help you say all you want to say. It will also preserve it for them in the future. If dads are unable to be present they could still write a blessing and have a YL leader read it on their behalf. Dad's may also choose to give a gift as a symbol of this transition to manhood. Suggestions: knife, sword, family ring or things that speak to your son’s uniqueness are also great. But remember, your words are the most valuable thing you can give.
Download this for more explanation on giving a blessing.
↧
